Associate Director / Director, Bioanalytical

POSITION TITLE: Associate Director / Director, Bioanalytical

DEPARTMENT: Translational Medicine

REPORTS TO : Sr. Director, Head of Translational Medicine

FLSA : Exempt

Salary range : $161k-$200k depending on experience/qualifications

Company and Role Description:

Dovetail Therapeutics is a Seattle biopharmaceutical company founded in 2023 by the world’s leading healthcare venture capital firm OrbiMed. Dovetail is committed to developing novel biotherapeutics that will meaningfully improve the lives of patients. The company has established a transformative, proprietary platform and a robust, expanding pipeline, with our lead drug candidate entering the clinic this year. 

Dovetail is seeking an Associate Director/Director of Bioanalytical to lead bioanalytical strategy for our expanding pipeline of novel monoclonal antibody therapeutics. The ideal candidate combines scientific, technical, and regulatory depth with strong strategic, operational, and leadership capabilities. This hands-on laboratory role encompasses experimental design, workflow prioritization, assay execution, and troubleshooting.

Responsibilities include conducting and guiding the development, qualification or validation, and implementation of pharmacokinetic (PK), anti-drug antibody (ADA), and pharmacodynamic (PD) or target engagement (TE) assays, both internally and through CRO partnerships.

Key Duties and Responsibilities

Strategy and Leadership

• Define and execute bioanalytical strategies for PK, ADA, and PD/TE assays to support preclinical and clinical activities. Core competencies include ligand-binding assays, ELISA, ECLIA, MSD, LC-MS/MS, and hybrid methods, with other fit-for-purpose platform technologies as appropriate.

• Balance a deep understanding of regulatory requirements, knowledge of cutting-edge bioanalytical techniques, scientific excellence and the efficiencies required in a start-up environment.

Team Development/Operations

• Foster a culture that empowers bioanalytical scientists to grow as strategic thinkers and innovative method developers. Create individual development plans, champion continuous learning, and broaden the team’s technical expertise in emerging bioanalytical platforms to strengthen scientific rigor and fit-for-purpose assay capabilities.

• Perform and/or manage method development and sample analyses, including method transfer, development, and CRO oversight.

• Contribute to establishing and maintaining SOPs, including standards for bioanalytical protocol and report writing.

Knowledge and Skills

• Broad experience and demonstrated expertise in developing and qualifying or validating bioanalytical methods for PK, ADA and PD/TE assays and in the transfer and validation of methods at external labs. Expertise across multiple platforms required, with some experience with LC-MS/MS or hybrid approaches for PK or PD/TE assays highly desired.

• Strong bench science expertise, strategic thinking, and clear communication skills. Demonstrated expertise in bioanalytical strategy, senior management alignment, and effective troubleshooting of challenges associated with novel molecules.

• A strong understanding of global regulatory requirements for bioanalytical assays; effective leadership and people management skills, with the demonstrated ability to develop scientific talent.

Qualifications

B.S./M.S. in Biochemistry, Analytical Chemistry, Immunology, or a related discipline with 12+ years of industry experience in bioanalytical sciences or a Ph.D. in a related discipline with 8+ years of experience. Experience developing bioanalytical methods for a range of biologic modalities and assay types (e.g. PK, PD) and managing CROs is required.

Benefits

We foster a culture of collaboration and innovation, with each team member playing a critical role in shaping our success. Dovetail offers a competitive total compensation and benefits package. Benefits include medical, dental and vision coverage, paid parking or transit, a 401(k) plan, and paid time off, among other components. Dovetail is located at 1616 Eastlake Ave East, in the vibrant South Lake Union neighborhood.